Tag Archives: Classy

I’ve been working hard and long to bring some fun designs to my favorite group of people – my fellow DIY-ers.

All of these designs are near and dear to my heart. I’ve got something for knitters, a little something for crocheters, and two of my three GiftTags work for any kind of handmade item! With a checklist of washing instructions on the back, you just can’t go wrong! Make sure to grab them on Etsy in time for the holidays.

These designs are modern typographic plays combined with hand illustration. Everything is printed with my good friends at HD Design & Print right here in Chicago. They run old school on a gorgeous offset press, but with a twist of inventive design.

This is just the start. Think big with me – these designs are screaming project bags, notebooks, and surely a coffee mug!

This was a happy accident. I was knitting with one of my favorite groups and I thought my friend put on a parody – I honestly heard “I’m all about that Lace.” I then got looks of confusion followed by looks of amazement.

This is definitely a favorite because it combines two of my favorite activities. SSK [Sip, Sip, knit] – increase the fun. This card is perfect to send to a friend who hosted your last boozy knit night. I’m seeing this foil stamped gold for the cover of a grid-lined notebook.

Of course, I had to have a little something for my crocheting friends. There are three fun designs for you, including the very cool “It’s not knit, IT’S CROCHET” GiftTags.

Come out and support the shop so we can start making more fun things to promote our pride and love of crafting! Contact me on Etsy for any special quantities, sets, or designs!

This is one of my favorite pieces from the vault. I designed this while living in Bushwick Brooklyn, NY.

I’ve always admired a man in a clean button-down and classy tie. I wanted to create a neck piece that was hip, fun, but still reserved and, well, dapper. Using a smaller yarn and gauge helped achieve that goal. To give an interesting texture, I used a series of stitches over a 3 row repeat.

Perfect for the professional in your life. Stay classy, World.

Two of my lovely Brooklyn loftmates entertained my request to photograph them wearing my creations. They chose to channel JCrew for inspiration while we played on our rooftop.

This is a simple pattern. Even though I learned to crochet in high school, I hardly ever do it! I chose to crochet this design because it gives a slightly thicker fabric and for a tie, you want a sturdy finish so it stays put.

This pattern will be free until 5pm Friday, August 28th to attract a pool of testers.

I realized in January that my mother was to have a special birthday this February.

She was turning … ?5.

I quickly got to work and organized a surprise party! For invitations I designed a very simple, clean postcard. I love drawing type by hand – I think it added a warm, personal touch to the invitation. Being in Chicago, I wanted to find a local, independent printer that I could work with to achieve the best result for the postcard. The people at HD Design & Printing were fantastic to work with – I was able to make an appointment, talk to them about the result I wanted and look at papers. They were able to turn this small job out in a matter of days.

Next task was to start planning the decorations. My go-to books at home are Paper + Craft by Minhee & Truman Cho and Handmade Weddings by Eunice Moyle, Sabrina Moyle, and Shana Faust (I find that at least 80% of this book translates to Handmade Events, not just weddings!). My apartment has a strong white base with a heavy dose of natural lighting – it’s the perfect neutral setting to easily transform. When choosing materials, I stuck with a palette of white and gold using subtle pops of pink and black.

The cone wreath came from a project in Paper + Craft. I chose a variety of neutral metallic papers to construct this decoration. In the dining room, I used two long strings of lights to run back and forth across the ceiling which created a party tent-like effect. From Handmade Weddings, I took inspiration from the Cupcake Liner Pom-Poms using both metallic gold and a black patterned liners. I also used coffee filters to create some contrast in size. In the dining room, I had different stations which I denoted with floating signs. I created these by cutting letters out of glitter paper. I then used blue tape to secure the letters to metal wire I hung from the strings of lights.

As for refreshments, I kept things classy and simple by serving coffee, a variety of teas, a blackberry lemonade champagne punch and an assortment of both savory and sweet finger foods – no forks! To serve food and drinks, I used a mismatched system based on the white and gold palette. The outcome was subtle, but still very fun and eclectic.

What worked in perfectly was a set of china I inherited from my grandmother. I was both ecstatic and terrified to use this thin, fragile set of Bavarian china for the first time. While being acquired a number of generations back on my mother’s side, it has a delightful Art Deco feel to it – it’s simple with just a thin band of a geometric plant pattern on the edges, outlined in gold (of course). However, I figured that if I were ever going to use it – this was the right age group to give it a go!

For a more original decoration, I went back to the original branding I had created for the invitation. I blew up the “?5” I had drawn and printed these 2′ elements as an engineering plot at Staples for about $4. I used a large piece of cardboard and cut these pieces out with a larger exacto knife. After these were cut, I carefully wrapped the pieces in crepe paper – carefully taping the strands in back and pulling the corners over the curves. I then took them outside and lightly spray painted them gold. I then took the “Sally turns” hand-drawn elements, blew them up, printed them out and cut them out of black glitter paper. I placed all these elements in a similar position to the invitation and it became a beautiful wall decoration.

Last, but not least, I made the birthday girl a pin to wear. I used the Felt Bud project from Handmade Weddings. Instead of making boutonnieres, I glued the buds and leaves to a pin back.

When the hour finally arrived and I coaxed my mother upstairs, nothing beat the look of astonishment on her face when her close friends and family yelled “Surprise!”